Upstate film maker releases first feature

Five years of struggle, preceded by decades of dreams, are finally yielding fruit for KT Terry.

His Christian-themed film “Redemption of the Commons,” shot in the Upstate and featuring many local actors, was screened at the North Carolina Family Film Festival this month, and in October, it will be showcased at the Churches Making Movies Film Festival in Iselin, N.J.

And earlier this year, “Redemption of the Commons” received the Award of Excellence from California’s Indie Fest Film Festival, which spotlights films from around the world.

It was a long, often arduous journey to get to this point, said Terry, who is pastor of Downtown Community Fellowship in Seneca.

“It’s really gratifying to finally, after five years of working hard to make this thing come together, we’re seeing it happen,” he said.

The film, which had its premiere in Greenville last spring, will be released on DVD Nov. 20, and it’s set to be released in theaters in the Southeast, including the Upstate, around that same time, said Terry, a former youth minister at First Presbyterian in Greenville..

Filmmaking has long been a dream for Terry, who spent five years in Los Angeles trying to make it as actor and a writer. He worked on the production team for the Discovery Channel series “Stunt Junkies,” but was never able to make a splash as a writer, and returned to South Carolina in 2008.

Those often-frustrating experiences helped to inspire “Redemption of the Commons,” which tells the story of a man named Victor, who loses his business and returns to his hometown, where he must face up to his past and repair broken family relationships.

Terry spent 18 months writing the script and another year-and-a-half working to get the film made. A Kickstarter campaign raised $58,000 to get the production started. Donations helped with most of the remaining $100,000, and many people volunteered their services to keep the costs at a minimum, he said.

He said he’s happy that the film is making an impact beyond the Upstate, and that film fans in other places will have the opportunity to see it as well.

“I guess it’s just exciting to see that there is a strong response to the film outside of the Upstate. ... It’s exciting that we have distribution now. People all around the world could potentially see it, and that’s always the hope,” Terry said.

He hasn’t decided on his next project, but he’s looking at scripts and considering a military theme, focusing on soldiers returning home from war and trying to return to their previous lives.

But one thing is for sure: Faith will play a starring role.

“There are so many films that are out there for the basis of entertainment,” Terry said. “I just feel a real strong calling for films that matter, redemptive films. So that when you get to the end credits, maybe you discover something about yourself or maybe you’re encouraged. ... With ‘Redemption of the Commons,’ we just really want to encourage people that your life matters, that God’s got a purpose for every single life, that there is a plan. And so we’re hoping that our next film will have the same type of impact.”